Paducah Seeking Grant to Repair Downtown Buildings

The City of Paducah is seeking a Delta Regional Authority grant through the States’ Economic Development Assistance Program (SEDAP) for improvements to downtown buildings.

Paducah Planning Director Steve Ervin told the City Commission he was seeking the grant at its Tuesday meeting.

“This grant application, if we did receive those funds, would certainly help us achieve some of those goals,” he said. “And, that’s the stabilization of our structures and filling those structures with both residential and retail first floor.”

The grant will fund renovations to several dilapidated downtown Paducah buildings. The SEDAP grant is for $200,000 with the city matching $75,000.

“We are proposing to use some of existing funds for roof stabilization to match it,” he said. “The program is for stabilization of those structures. Ultimately we would like to see is have those structures filled and have those structure benefitting the vitality of downtown.”

Ervin said the city wants to protect and preserve the buildings while bringing in new jobs and residents downtown.

Although McCracken County has some damaged buildings, the Delta Regional Authority has not included it in its 2014 Distressed Counties and Parishes list. That list is determined by county unemployment rates and per capita income.

The DRA assists 252 counties in 8 states in the delta region, including Kentucky.

Related Content

The Delta Regional Authority is sweetening the pot for cross-state applications for federal grants to strengthen training partnerships between community colleges and employers.

Acting U.S. Labor Secretary Seth Harris said Friday that $474.5 million is available nationwide under the third round of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grants program.

New data shows small businesses have led the Mississippi Delta region in job creation. The Delta Regional Authority released private-sector data Monday showing 90 percent of all new jobs in the area over the last 20 years have come from businesses with nine or fewer employees.